Music Production for Films
A course by Simon Smith
, Musician and Composer
Explore music as a tool for storytelling by conceptualizing, developing, and producing a score for the big screen
- 99% positive reviews (158)
- 4260 students
- Audio: English
- English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Polish, Dutch
Explore music as a tool for storytelling by conceptualizing, developing, and producing a score for the big screen
- 99% positive reviews (158)
- 4260 students
- 21 lessons (4h 21m)
- 28 additional resources (7 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: English
- English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Polish, Dutch
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
Composing for films is a process that reveals the power of music. It evokes feelings that words and images alone cannot, and helps to bring a story to life. Musician and composer Simon Smith specializes in composing for film and television. His music can be heard in cinemas as well as on platforms like Netflix and Amazon.
In this course, Simon takes you through the process of conceptualizing, developing, and producing your own score for a film. Extend your music-making beyond just instruments and learn to tell compelling stories through sound.

What will you learn in this online course?
Course table of contents
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U1U1. Introduction
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U2U2. First Concepts
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U3U3. Starting the Project
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U4U4. Scoring
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U5U5. It All Comes Together
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FPFP Final project
Begin by getting to know musician and composer Simon Smith. He talks you through his journey to becoming a composer for film and television, before taking a look at the artists and influences which have inspired his work over the years.
Explore what film scoring actually is, then dive into the equipment you’ll need to create one, from headphones to virtual instruments. Go behind the scenes of the film production process and the people involved before switching your focus to the music itself. Learn to analyze how and why film music works and discover different options for applying musical ideas to a story. Look in-depth at how storytelling and music are used in films before diving into example scores and hearing Simon’s tips on composition and production.
Discover one of the key moments in the film scoring process: the spotting session. Then, begin your technical setup. Dive into the film and find a concept to give perspective to your musical ideas. Learn to analyze a script, location, acting, lighting, and more before deciding on your ideas and making a plan for your music.
Now you’re ready to start writing! Simon talks you through creating a theme suite or palette of colors and sounds before applying your ideas to a film, scene by scene. Once your ideas are ready to share with a director, prepare them for presentation and feedback.
With the composition stage over, it’s time to perfect your sound ready for exporting and delivery. Simon shares his expertise on legal matters including release forms and music royalties. To finish the course, he offers his advice for career development in the music industry.
What is this course's project?
Compose a powerful score for a short film of your choice.

Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
Anyone with an interest in learning to score music for film or applying music to any audiovisual work.
Requirements and materials
Some basic understanding of music theory is required. You will also need the ability to record, edit, and mix music in a digital audio workstation.
In terms of equipment, you will need headphones, virtual instruments, and other materials the teacher will talk through in more detail in the course.

Reviews

A course by Simon Smith
Simon Smith is a Barcelona-based musician and composer who specializes in music for film and television. As a child, he was always experimenting with playing different instruments and eventually went on to study music in London, where he found himself drawn towards composing and improvising. Simon went on to release music with a label in the city and play in bands at well-known festivals like Glastonbury before moving on to composing for the big screen.
He has worked in countries around the world including the USA, Germany, Mexico, the UK, and Spain, and his work can be heard both in cinemas as well as on platforms like Netflix and Amazon.
Content
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U1
Introduction
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Influences
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About Me
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U2
First Concepts
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What Is Scoring for Film?
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What You Need before Starting
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Film Production Process and Team Workflow
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Let’s Talk about Music Itself 1
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Let’s Talk about Music Itself 2
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Music in Storytelling 1
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Music in Storytelling 2
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Some Composing and Production Tips 1
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Some Composing and Production Tips 2
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U3
Starting the Project
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Inside the Film: Finding a Concept and Planning 2
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Inside the Film: Finding a Concept and Planning 1
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Getting Set Up Technically
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The Spotting Session
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U4
Scoring
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The Theme Suite 1
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The Theme Suite 2
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Scene by Scene
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Presentation and Feedback
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U5
It All Comes Together
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Cue Sheets, Legal and Other Important Things
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Mixdown and Delivery
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FP
Final project
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Music Production for Films
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What to expect from a Domestika course
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Learn at your own pace
Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.
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Learn from the best professionals
Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
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Meet expert teachers
Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.
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Certificates
PlusIf you're a Plus or PRO member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.
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Get front-row seats
Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.
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Share knowledge and ideas
Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.
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Connect with a global creative community
The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.
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Watch professionally produced courses
Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.
FAQs
Domestika's courses are online classes that provide you with the tools and skills you need to complete a specific project. Every step of the project combines video lessons with complementary instructional material, so you can learn by doing. Domestika's courses also allow you to share your own projects with the teacher and with other students, creating a dynamic course community.
All courses are 100% online, so once they're published, courses start and finish whenever you want. You set the pace of the class. You can go back to review what interests you most and skip what you already know, ask questions, answer questions, share your projects, and more.
The courses are divided into different units. Each one includes lessons, informational text, tasks, and practice exercises to help you carry out your project step by step, with additional complementary resources and downloads. You'll also have access to an exclusive forum where you can interact with the teacher and with other students, as well as share your work and your course project, creating a community around the course.
You can redeem the course you received by accessing the redeeming page and entering your gift code.
lucasdt
bardzo ciekawy poradnik z kompetentnym instruktorem. Wiele przydatnych porad i wskazówek!
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analucia2
Me encanta el curso! Es muy interesante ver la forma en que trabaja Simon. Explica muy bien y el contenido es excelente!
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daescudero
Este curso tiene mucho valor, ya que te acerca a la mirada personal del autor respecto de como trabajar las etapas de un proyecto musical para una película, en lo técnico se aprecia más los tips y métodos en los últimos capítulos, pero no deja de ser interesante y nutritivo el manejo de las competencias blandas al momento de interactuar con las partes interesadas y clientes.
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claudio_mayorga
La unidad 1 es una introducción personal de Simon Smith. La unidad 2 es un pantallazo general a su manera de ver y hacer musica para medios visuales. No puedo apreciar mucho estas dos unidades. La Unidad 3 es la parte interesante. Comienza a mostrar el flujo de trabajo y situaciones prácticas al respecto.
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martin.collado1999
Excelente curso. Ideal para cambiar la forma de hacer musica
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